Windows 8 -- Aero? Plain.

Subject: General Tech, Editorial | May 20, 2012 - 04:03 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: windows 8, Aero

Paul Thurrott reports that Microsoft will dump Aero Glass in lieu of a more flat user interface for Windows 8. How far is Microsoft willing to distance itself from the desktop market to entice a foothold in the mobile space?

Remember that image I did with a turd on a desktop workstation a few days ago?

Microsoft has killed their glass-based design which they established almost a decade ago with the Longhorn technical preview.

Windows 8 Release Preview is set to release within the next two weeks and will contain Aero Glass as its desktop chrome. The shift to the flat layout will occur before release of the full version. It is still unclear whether users will be able to see it hands-on before they are expected to own it.

The ironic part is that is probably a glass aquarium.

You may be wondering why I claim this as an offense against the desktop. Later in his article Paul gives his prediction into why Aero Glass shattered -- since Microsoft did not directly say so themselves. Aero is not the most difficult interface for a computer to render but it does require a steady amount more computation than a flat layout. Transparency, blur, and other effects take up computation power -- hence why Windows harasses you to turn off Aero if your framerate dips in a game -- and that computation power translates to battery life.

Remember when Aero was touted as a driving reason to in-place upgrade to Vista Home Premium?

I guess Microsoft believes that they do not want their tablet customers to feel like second-rate citizens. At least we know that they will be willing to throw it all away and do it over yet again. At this point that should be the most clear above anything else.

AMD will not chase Intel making "needlessly powerful" CPUs

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Graphics Cards, Processors | May 19, 2012 - 04:52 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: ultrabook, trinity, cloud computing, cloud, amd

Bloomberg Businessweek reports AMD CEO Rory Read claims that his company will produce chips which are suited for consumer needs and not to crunch larger and larger bundles of information. They also like eating Intel’s bacon -- the question: is it from a pig or a turkey?

Read believes there is “enough processing power on every laptop on the planet today”.

I disagree.

The argument revolves around the shift to the cloud, as usual. It is very alluring to shift focus from the instrument to the data itself. More enticing: discussing how the instruments change to suit that need; this is especially true if you develop instruments and yearn to shift anyway.

Don’t question the bacon…

AMD has been trusting that their processors will be good enough and their products will differentiate in other ways such as with graphics capabilities which they claim will be more important for cloud services. AMD hopes that their newer laptops will steal some bacon from Intel and their ultrabook initiative.

The main problem with the cloud is that it is mostly something that people feel that they want rather than actually do. They believe they want their content controlled by a company for them until it becomes inaccessible temporarily or permanently. They believe they want their information accessible in online services but then freak out about the privacy implications of it.

The public appeal of the cloud is that it lets you feel as though you can focus on the content rather than the medium. The problem is that you do not have fewer distractions from your content -- just different ones -- and they rear their head once or twice in isolation of each other. You experience a privacy concern here and an incompatibility or licensing issue there. For some problems and for some people it makes more sense to control your own data. It will continue to be important to serve that market.

And if crunching ends up being necessary for the future it looks like Intel will be a little lonely at the top.

Origin helps indie devs with 90 day grace for crowdfunding

Subject: General Tech | May 19, 2012 - 03:39 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: origin, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, crowdfunding, pc gaming

EA wishes to foster independent game distribution on their Origin platform. Developers of games which are crowd-funded through a service such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter will receive 100% revenue share from the service for 90 days.

I need to give EA credit when they do something good.

The Origin online distribution system is not as appreciated as Steam has been but that does not stop EA from trying. The service was made a requisite for PC games such as Battlefield 3 which was an annoyance to gamers -- much as Steam was an annoyance to Half Life 2 players. Whether Origin was a good service or not was irrelevant as customers just do not like to be forced to use a service to access unrelated content.

Origin has decided to waive distribution fees for crowd funded content for 90 days -- wielding a carrot.

Maybe Warren Spector should crowd fund a small project at Junction Point -- publish on Origin’s Systems

It’d be like Tim Schafer, just more ironic.

Two main options for crowdsourcing projects are Indiegogo and Kickstarter. If you are one of our Canadian viewers than you are limited to posting your project on Indiegogo as Kickstarter will not fund projects outside the US; of course you can fund American projects on Kickstarter from Canada, just not create your own. With Origin you are then able to publish on an established platform and receive full revenue for the first three months.

Of course if you have licensed technology or assets such as Unreal Development Kit you are still obliged to follow those commitments. For the first three months EA will just keep their hand out of your pocket.

CS6 OpenCL support -- not quite hardware acceleration for all

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards | May 19, 2012 - 03:27 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Adobe, CS6, gpgpu

Last month, SemiAccurate reported that Adobe Creative Suite 6 would be programmed around OpenCL which would allow any GPU to accelerate your work. Adobe now claims that OpenCL would only accelerate the HD6750M and the HD6770M running on OSX Lion with 1GB of vRAM on a MacBook Pro at least for the time being at least for Adobe Premiere Pro.

Does it aggravate you when something takes a while or stutters when you know a part of your PC is just idle?

Adobe has been increasingly moving to take advantage of the graphics processor available in your computer to benefit the professional behind the keyboard, mouse, or tablet. CS 5.5 pushed several of their applications on to the CUDA platform. End-users claim that Adobe sold them out for NVIDIA but that just seems unlikely and unlike either company. My prediction is and always was more that NVIDIA parachuted in some engineers to Adobe and their help was limited to CUDA.

Creative Suite 6 further suggests that I was correct as Adobe has gone back and re-authored much of those features in OpenCL.

Isn't it somewhat ironic that insanity is a symptom of mercury poisoning?

AMD as a hatter!

CS6 will not execute on just any old GPU now despite the wider availability of OpenCL relative to the somewhat NVIDIA proprietary CUDA. While the CUDA whitelist currently extends to 22 Windows NVIDIA GPUs and 3 Mac OSX NVIDIA GPUs current OpenCL support is limited to a pair of AMD-based OSX Lion mobile GPUs: the 6750M and the 6770M.

It would not surprise me if other GPUs would accelerate CS6 if manually added to a whitelist. Adobe probably is very conservative with what components they add to the whitelist in an effort to reduce support costs. That does not mean that you will see benefits even if you trick Adobe into accepting hardware acceleration though.

It appears as if Adobe is working towards using the most open and broad standards -- they just are doing it at their own pace this time. This release was obviously paced for Apple support.

$700 Ultrabooks could provide HP's Sleekbooks with a challenge

Subject: General Tech | May 18, 2012 - 03:24 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: celeron 807, celeron 877, celeron, ulv, ultrabook, sleekbook, hp

HP recently announced their plans to begin selling Sleekbooks, a ultraportable modelled after the Ultrabook but using an AMD processor.  You might lose a bit of computational power but you won't sacrifice graphical performance and the prices are slated to be noticeably less that what Ultrabooks are currently selling for, as well as the intended sub-$1000 price Intel originally stated.  Intel is firing back with the upcoming release of two Celeron processors both priced under $100.  DigiTimes also reports on five future dual core i3s which will sell between $100-$150 which will give Intel customers a large feild of models to choose from.   The two new Celerons are expected to be 17W 32nm SandyBridge processors, one single core model and one dual core model, both with Intel HD graphics onboard.

"Intel will launch four entry-level Celeron processors including the Celeron ULV 877 and 807 for sale at US$86 and US$70 respectively and targeting ultrabooks in the third quarter of 2012. The CPUs could enable vendors to offer ultrabooks at a price level of US$699 in the third-quarter, and falling to US$599 at the end of the year or beginning of 2013, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Intel releases third-generation Core vPro Platform @ DigiTimes
• Intel Glamor Acceleration Compared To SNA, UXA @ Phoronix
• Seeing ads on Wikipedia? Then you're infected @ The Register
• GPU Technology Conference 2012 - Day 1 and 2 @ Hi Tech Legion
• How NVIDIA GeForce GRID Changed Video Games @ Benchmark Reviews
• GTC 2012 Part 1: NVIDIA Announces GK104 Based Tesla K10, GK110 Based Tesla K20 @ AnandTech
• NETGEAR N900 Wireless Dual-Band Router and USB Adapter Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Windows 8 frightens me, and here's why @ The Tech Report
• be quiet! Joint Contest @ NikKTech
• Custom modded rig built buy a selection of different modders Auction @ Xtreme Computing

Unreal Engine 4 first screenshots. Wicked Sick?

Subject: General Tech, Shows and Expos | May 18, 2012 - 04:24 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: E3, unreal engine 4, ue4

Epic Games has demonstrated Unreal Engine 4 behind closed doors at GDC a few months ago. First screenshots have been released from that demo although not much more has been made public about it. While not completely epic, it definitely is exciting. Unreal Engine 4 is expected to be further unveiled at or near E3 in June.

Both Wired Magazine and PC Gamer have released screenshots and articles from the Unreal Engine 4 Game Developers Conference 2012 (GDC12) demo.

Epic has been quiet about the next generation of their game development platform. Only a handful of lucky individuals were shown the demo at the GDC and those who did could not share their experience. Epic has said that they would have liked to publicly demonstrate their product, but were unable to due to non-disclosure agreements that they themselves were placed under.

I think that guy needs some thixomolded magnesium alloy. He seems to be running a little hot.

Either he’ll cool down, or produce a beautiful white bloom.

(Screenshot Credit: PC Gamer)

Wired claims that Epic will unveil the rest of Unreal Engine 4 in June which likely means that it will occur on or around the E3 press conference.

It is thus easy to speculate that whatever gagged Epic will likely be unveiled at E3 too.

The major hook of the demo was that it was running in the editor and not in a baked game executable. This means that developers will have a much easier time creating their game and will also have to spend much less time preparing to work. About the only concrete tidbit in the article is that Unreal Engine 4 will not have baked lighting. Unreal Engine 4 will likely use a technology similar to Battlefield 3 where global illumination is calculated at runtime -- nearly a must for properly lit destructibility.

Both sources have their own set of screenshots. Check out both Wired and PC Gamer so you do not miss any pixels.

Podcast #202 Aftershow - Much Ado about Storage

Subject: Editorial, General Tech, Storage | May 17, 2012 - 05:05 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: podcast, aftershow

After the normally scheduled podcast recorded last night, the PC Perspective staff hung around in the chat room to talk with our fans and readers about various random hardware topics.  Rather than just throw that data away, we decided to save it and post the video here as a sort of "aftershow" for those of you that want a bit more PCPer in your life.

Enjoy!

Podcast #202 - GTX 670, NVIDIA's GK110 Tesla card, our AMD Trinity Mobile review and more!

Subject: General Tech | May 17, 2012 - 03:16 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: trinity, tesla, podcast, nvidia, kepler, gtx670, GTC 2012, gk110, GK104, dv nation, a10

PC Perspective Podcast #202 - 05/17/2012

Join us this week as we talk about the GTX 670, NVIDIA's GK110 Tesla card, our AMD Trinity Mobile review and more!

If you want even more PC Perspective this, check out our "aftershow" event as well.  Event might be an over-statement though...

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath, and Allyn Malvantano

Program length: 1:05:16

Program Schedule:

1. 0:00:21 Introduction
2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
3. http://pcper.com/podcast
4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
   
5. 0:01:15 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Graphics Card Review - Kepler for $399
   1. GeForce GTX 670 vs GTX 570 Performance Update
   2. The GTX 670 and the Case of the Missing (and Returning) 4-Way SLI Support
6. 0:11:20 Graphics Card (GPU) Stock Check - May 10th, 2012
   1. Hard to make a profit when no one can find Kepler cards for sale, NVIDIA
7. 0:14:25 NVIDIA Reveals GK110 GPU - Kepler at 7.1B Transistors, 15 SMX Units
8. 0:20:20 Lenovo IdeaCentre Q180: Atom's Wake
9. 0:24:30 AMD A10-4600M Trinity For Mobile Review: Trying To Cut The Ivy
10. 0:33:40 Just Delivered: DV Nation RAMRod PC - Sandy Bridge-E, 64GB DDR3, 480GB RevoDrive 3 X2
11. 0:35:42 Plug and Pray PCIe SSD that you can upgrade; OWC's Mercury Accelsior
12. 0:40:40 GTC 2012: NVIDIA Announces GeForce GRID Cloud Gaming Platform
    1. NVIDIA Pioneers New Standard for High Performance Computing with Tesla GPUs
    2. NVIDIA Introduces World's First Virtualized GPU, Accelerating Graphics for Cloud Computing
13. 0:53:00 ZOTAC announces ZOTAC GeForce GT 630, GT 620 and GT 610 series
14. 0:55:00 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Jeremy: Only to be used for evil
    2. Josh: Since NV doesn't have an answer yet at this price range...
    3. Allyn: If you need your files secure - without the destruction
15. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
16. http://pcper.com/podcast   
17. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
18. Closing

Microsoft will fix what their OEM partners break -- for $99

Subject: General Tech, Systems | May 17, 2012 - 03:13 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Microsoft Store, crapware

“Factory computers” have been loaded with demos and trials for several years now in an effort to subsidize part of the cost, get lower prices, and bloat your computer -- that last part is unintentional. Microsoft created their “Signature” lineup of PCs a couple of years ago to highlight products that only have software which Microsoft intended to install. Microsoft will soon offer a service to bring existing PCs to what Microsoft deems a Signature status for $99 if you can find a Microsoft store.

While our readers are affected by this story they are probably less so than just about any other blog.

If you did not acquire your computer by having it assembled -- and if you did, we hope you consulted our regularly updated Hardware Leaderboard -- you probably purchased it from an OEM. To make their product seem more appealing most OEMs load their products with product demos and other advertisements. This is particularly bad for PCs because they are not only annoying but also tend to bog the machine down.

What is it with Microsoft Stores and awkward $99 products lately?

(and yes I realize the image is inaccurate because I chose a non-consumer workstation)

Since Microsoft tends to get the brunt of the bad recognition when a Windows machine it comes to no surprise that they eventually attempted to encourage a more vanilla experience. The Microsoft “Signature” lineup of PCs were OEM-produced machines which have been removed of all software that should not come with Windows -- except maybe a few Windows Live Essentials products.

Microsoft will expand their Signature program to any PC if you can find a Microsoft Store and pay $99 to undo what their partners did.

It is unclear what specific goal Microsoft is hoping to accomplish with this program. Everyone’s first reaction would be that they are attempting to cash in at the expense of their users but that just does not make sense. They could be attempting to promote the Windows store but this certainly seems less like a carrot and more like a wet noodle. They could also be trying to pressure their OEMs by reducing the cost-per-impression they can acquire for each ad because of how easily it could be removed.

It would be most like Microsoft to honestly believe that this service will be appreciated by users. If that is true, I must disagree. ZDNet has already used this as an excuse to promote Apple computers -- which makes me headdesk because $99 is pocket change compared to that -- so I expect that if that was Microsoft’s intent it will backfire wholly.

What do you think Microsoft’s goal is: selfish vulching their consumers or something less devious?

Corsair Giving Away Five Vengeance 2000 Wireless Headsets

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 10:45 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: vengeance 2000, vengeance, headset, gaming, corsair

Popular computer case and power supply maker Corsair recently launched a sweepstakes to get the word out about their new Vengeance 2000 wireless gaming headsets. They will be giving away five of the new virtual surround sound headsets to winners.

The contest is open to new entrants until Monday (5/21/12), and is very simple to enter. To enter the contest, head over to their Facebook contest page and hit the “Like” button. Then click on the green “Enter Sweepstakes” button. After that, they invite you to tell your friends about the contest. They have a couple thousands entries so far, so get in while you can! The Official Rules are linked on the bottom of the contest page but it looks like anyone over the age of 18 not affiliated with the company is eligible to win.

The Vengeance 2000 is essentially the wireless version of the company's Vengeance 1500 USB gaming headset with a noticeable makeover. The headset uses 50mm drivers and 2.4GHz wireless technology to deliver virtual surround sound without a wired connection to the PC, and up to about 40 feet. It also features a rechargeable battery in the headset and an adjustable noise canceling boom microphone. The headsets have an MSRP of $149 USD.

Best of luck in the contest, and if you win be sure to let us know what you think of them!

Netgear Announces New 802.11ac Gear, Launches New Router

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 09:57 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wifi, router, networking, netgear, 802.11ac

Following up on the announcement by Buffalo Technology, Netgear has released their own 802.11ac wireless router, the R6300. (PC Perspective recently ran a giveaway for the R6300 which you can read about here). In addition to the flagship 802.11ac router, Netgear announced a slimmed down version–the R6200–and the A6200 WiFi USB dongle.

The Netgear R6300 is their highest end wireless router supporting the 802.11ac WiFi standard. It supports 802.11ac speeds up to 1300 Mbps (450 Mbps over wireless n) and is backwards compatible with the 802.11 a/b/g/n standards. It also has two USB 2.0 ports that can be used to share hard drive and printers across the network. Further, the “5G WiFI” router is powered by a Broadcom chipset, which should open the door to third part firmware(s).

In addition to the above router, Netgear has announced the R6200 wireless router. It is compatible with the upcoming 802.11ac standard, but at reduced speeds. It features approximately 900 Mbps transfer rates over the “ac” standard and up to 300 Mbps over the 802.11n standard. The router is backwards compatible with all the older consumer standards (a/b/g/n), and it features a single USB 2.0 port to share a printer or hard drive to computers on the LAN.

Last up in the announcement is the Netgear A6200. This device is a USB WiFi dongle that supports the 802.11ac standard as well as existing a/b/g/n networks. It claims to deliver enough speed for HD streaming of videos, though Netgear has not stated if it will be able to take advantage of the full 1300 Mbps theoretical maximum connection. The WiFi adapter features a swiveling antenna and a docking station for use with desktop systems.

The other neat feature that the new routers support is the Netgear Genie application, which allows users to monitor and control the network using an application on their computer or smartphone (iOS and Android). They also feature Netgear MyMedia, printer sharing, guest network access, a DLNA server, parental controls, and automatic WiFi security.

The Netgear R6300 router is available for purchase now with an MSRP of $199.99. The R6200 router and A6200 WiFi dongle will be available for purchase in Q3 2012 with suggested retail prices of $179.99 and $69.99 respectively.

Microsoft Signature Will Clean Your Windows Install For $99

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 06:31 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: Windows 7, windows, microsoft signature, microsoft

Microsoft’s Signature program is a Microsoft Store and online service where the company resells OEM partners’ computers without all the traditional bloatware programs. The company puts a clean install of Windows on the hardware, installs Microsoft applications–including Microsoft Security Essentials, Live Movie Maker, and Live Mail–and optimized the OS for that particular machine’s hardware. This Signature install of Windows has only been available to users that purchased a new computer from Microsoft–until now.

According to Ars Technica, Microsoft is now offering to turn any OEM PC running Windows into a Signature edition of the operating system for a one-time fee of $99. DIYers and enthusiasts are likely to scoff at the nearly hundred dollar price tag for popping in a Windows 7 install disc and doing a clean install, but the Signature service is most certainly not aimed at the technically savvy market to begin with. Rather, this is a service for ordinary computer users to get the most performance out of their computer while avoiding the numerous “optimize my PC” scams and malware-programs-masquerading-as-Windows-utilities minefield. Doing a clean install and then optimizing the OS can take at least an hour (though enthusiasts can generally shave that time down quite a bit), and a straight fee of $99 is a lot less than consumers are likely to find elsewhere (especially since that includes 90 days of tech support). And that’s where I think this program is okay, and even a good thing. Most OEM systems come pre-loaded with a bunch of unwanted programs and trial offers that serve no real purpose besides making the OEM more money. There is also the issue of security. The majority of OEM systems come pre-loaded with some form of trial antivirus (usually Norton), and customers are notorious for not upgrading to the paid edition after the trial period or replacing it with (better) free antivirus applications. For $99, Microsoft will take the OEM machine and spruce it up to be the operating system that it should have been running in the first place. Besides price, the other barrier to this catching on is that customers need to bring the PC into a Microsoft Store (which are few and far between).

That statement is where many users are not pleased with Microsoft. They believe that Microsoft should exert more control over what OEMs are allowed to do with its operating system. Certainly, that is the ideal solution, but Microsoft is not Apple and they do not have the same level of control over the resulting hardware and what is bundled into the OS after it is purchased by OEMs. The Signature program is at least a step in the right direction and making the best of the situation. Also, it is an optional service that consumers are free to shop around to find a better price (or learn how to do it themselves by checking out guides online). It may not be the best thing, but at least Microsoft recognizes that there is a problem and is offering an alternative.

I’ll admit that I reacted unfavorably when I first read about the program, especially since it seemed so expensive for what comes as second nature to me. But not everyone wants to muck around in settings and for those with more money than time the Signature program is not a bad deal. It’s not for me, but I can see situations where it will work well. What are your thoughts on the program; do you see it as useful or is Microsoft way off base here?

Take a break from Diablo 3 to look behind the scenes

Subject: General Tech | May 16, 2012 - 12:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: gaming, diablo iii

Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN was given the chance to sit down with the senior world designer and the lead technical artist of Diablo 3.  One of the topics of discussion will be near and dear to those who played the previous games in the series, co-op multiplayer, which really defined the game for those who tried it.  Somehow button mashing in tandem was much more enjoyable than the already great single player experience and the development team spent a good deal of effort bringing that experience to Diablo 3.  They also talk about the difficulties of including enough lore to keep players who want some depth to the story of the game but ensuring that those players who don't care for a back story don't feel it is getting in the way of their game.  At no time were rainbows or unicorns discussed.

"Diablo III is now a thing that you’re capable of owning and (hopefully) playing. Just before the launch, when those network problems were yet to freeze Hell over, I sat down with senior world designer Leonard Boyarsky and lead technical artist Julian Love to keep them company as queues formed in the streets outside. Along the way, I discovered that having an ex-Troika chap on your game means that ‘lore’ is a very important word indeed, that the distant roguelike heritage hasn’t been forgotten and that technological progression doesn’t necessarily alter design principles."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Eyefinity/Surround Analysis of Rayman Origins @ Widescreen Gaming Forum
• Botanicula PC Review @ eTeknix
• Diablo III Midnight Launch and Signing Gallery @ HardwareHeaven
• ins of a Solar Empire Rebellion Beta @ Benchmark Reviews
• Inside the Atari 2600 @ Hardware Secrets
• Lucid PC Review @ eTeknix
• A Chat With Rocket, Creator Of Day Z @ Rock, Paper, SHOTGUN!

Gigabyte USA Announces Gigabyte eSports LAN

Subject: General Tech | May 15, 2012 - 06:22 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: LAN party, lan, gigabyte, gaming, case mod contest

Popular motherboard manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co. recently announced the Gigabyte eSports LAN (GESL), which is its first eSports event in North America. The even includes a BYOC (bring your own computer) LANFest, tournament competitions in Starcraft II and League of Legends, a case mode competition, presentations, and an event raffle. The competitions each feature various prizes for winning including Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 motherboards, graphics cards, RAM, and other computer hardware. Starcraft II and League of Legends further offer $11,000 and $10,000 prize pools respectively.

The event will be held at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California from June 15th to June 17th, 2012. In additon to Gigabyte, the eSports event is co-sponsored by Kingston and Cooler Master, among others. The LAN competitions will be broadcast in HD for free during the event for those that can’t attend in person. Alternatively, users can purchase spectator badges for $15 USD. There will also be an event raffle during the GESL that will give away various pieces of computer hardware and company swag to attendees.

Further, the case mod contest will showcase systems from participants of the BYOC LANFest or spectators, of which five winners will be chosen. They will receive computer hardware and coverage in CPU Magazine should they win.

More information on the event can be found at the Gigabyte eSports LAN website (thegesl.com).

Buffalo First To Market With 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi Router

Subject: General Tech | May 15, 2012 - 05:38 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: wireless, router, networking, ethernet bridge, buffalo, 802.11ac

Netgear and Buffalo have been working hard to build and get to market new wireless routers based on the 802.11ac (pending ratification) standard. PC Perspective recently ran a giveaway for the Netgear 802.11ac router, but it seems that Buffalo has managed to beat them to market with their new gear. In fact, Buffalo yesterday released two 802.11ac devices with the AirStation™ WZR-D1800H wireless router and WLI-H4-D1300 wireless Ethernet bridge. Both devices are powered by Broadcom’s 5G WiFi chips (what Broadcom refers to 802.11ac as–the fifth generation of consumer WiFi) and based around the IEEE standard that is set to become an official standard early next year.

The Buffalo 802.11ac Router (left: front, right: rear view)

The router and Ethernet bridge both support the upcoming 802.11ac standard as well as the current 802.11 b, g, and n standards so they are backwards compatible with all your devices. They also support all the normal functions of any other router or bridge device–the draft support for 802.11ac is what differentiates these products. The router stands vertically and has a router reset and USB eject buttons, one USB 2.0 port, four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports, and one Gigabit Ethernet WAN port. Below the WAN port is a power button and DC in jack. The Buffalo Ethernet bridge allows users to connect Ethernet devices to a network over WiFi. It looks very similar to the router but does not have a WAN port or USB port on the back. It also does not act as a router, only a bridge to a larger network. The largest downside to the Ethernet bridge is pricing: (although out of stock now) Newegg has the bridge listed for the same price as the full fledged router. At that point, it does not have much value–users would be better off buying two routers and disabling the router features on one (and because the Broadcom chipset should enable custom firmwares, this should be possible soon).

The Buffalo 802.11ac Ethernet Bridge (left: front, right: rear view)

What makes these two devices interesting though is the support for the “5G WiFi” 802.11ac wireless technology. This is the first time that the Wireless connections have a (granted, theoretical) higher transfer speed than the wired connections, which is quite the feat. 802.11ac is essentially 802.11n but with several improvements and only operating on channels in the 5GHz spectrum. The pending standard also uses wider 80 Mhz or 160 MHz channels, 256 QAM modulation, and up to eight antennas (much like 802.11n’s MIMO technology) to deliver much faster wireless transfer rates than consumers have had available previously. The other big technology with the upcoming WiFi standard is beamforming. This allows wireless devices to communicate with their access point(s) to determine relative spatial position. That data is then used to adjust the transmitted signals such that it is sent in the direction of the access point at the optimum power levels. This approach is different to traditional WiFi devices that broadcast omni-directionally (think big circular waves coming out of your router) because the signals are more focused. By focusing the signals, users get better range and can avoid WiFi deadspots.

Hajime Nakai, Chief Executive Officer at Buffalo Technology stated that “along with Broadcom, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to innovation by providing a no-compromise, future proofed wireless infrastructure for consumers’ digital worlds.”

The Buffalo AirStation™ WZR-D1800H router and WLI-H4-D1300 Ethernet bridge are available for purchase now for around $179.99 USD. The Ethernet bridge is listed as out of stock on Newegg; however, the router is still available (and the better value).

Sandy Bridge Xeons galore! Seventeen new E5s arrive

Subject: General Tech | May 15, 2012 - 02:17 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: xeon, xeon e5, Sandy Bridge E, Sandy Bridge EN, Sandy Bridge EP, lga 1356, lga 2011

Today marks the arrival of the Xeon E3-1200 single socket processor with 17 more models coming soon for two, four, or even eight socket motherboards, though according to The Inquirer Intel has no plans to scale to 16 sockets.  They come in a bewildering array of models including the Sandy Bridge E we are used to, Sandy Bridge EN which uses LGA 1356 and is intended for dual CPU motherboards as it only has one QPI and the LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge EP which scales higher thanks to dual QPI.  No triple QPI but that may still be in store to reduce the number of hops in an 8+ socket board to 2 when used in symmetric multiprocessing in the future.

The E5-2400 (SB-EP) has eight cores and is targeted straight at AMD's lower price, lower power consumption chips as well as offering a noticeable improvement over the already launched E3s.  The E5-2600 family with its dual QPI is more suited for high powered applications that need several powerful processors working in tandem but not to the levels that the E7 series provides.  By offering such a wide variety of choices, especially a family of what for Intel are very low cost processors they are really putting a lot of pressure on AMD and the soon to be released Piledriver family.

"If you were planning on buying new servers in the coming weeks and months, Intel just gave you a whole lot of homework. And if you work at Advanced Micro Devices, you're getting some homework, too."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• Adobe backs down, patches critical Photoshop CS5 hole @ The Register
• Intel Sandy Bridge Is Shinier On Ubuntu 12.04 LTS @ Phoronix
• Getting around in Windows 8 @ Windows Team Blog
• Ask the Experts: Heterogeneous and GPU Compute with AMD’s Manju Hegde @ AnandTech
• Nvidia launches Nsight CUDA dev tools into Eclipse @ The Register
• Testing 10GbE Performance: QNAP TS-879 Pro & Synology DS3612xs NAS @ TechSpot

NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference Keynote Live Stream

Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards, Shows and Expos | May 15, 2012 - 10:14 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: nvidia, GTC 2012, live

Are you interested in GPUs?  Maybe GPU computing or even some cloud-based GeForce announcements?  Chances are then you'll want to tune in to the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference keynote today at 10:30am PT / 1:30pm ET.  

NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is expected to be on stage with three new announcements, one of which will likely be the the GK110 GPU we have all been waiting to hear about.  Another has been teased as "a new major cloud gaming technology" while the third...well I really have no idea. It should be exciting though so tune in and watch along with us!

You can catch it all at http://www.gputechconf.com/!

Amped Wireless new Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band, Dual Antenna Router

Subject: General Tech | May 14, 2012 - 05:05 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Amped Wireless, R20000G, Wireless-N, gigabit router

If you don't win the brand new Netgear R6300 802.11ac router which we were giving away last week you might be wondering just how you can get your hands on a Gigabit wireless device.  Amped Wireless might just have what you need if you are serious about streaming large amounts of data wirelessly, be it game data, video or VoIP calls.  The R20000G provides dual 600mW 2.4GHz amplifiers and dual 5.0GHz amplifiers allowing the use of both bands simultaneously and the dual high gain antennas should blanket up to a quarter of an acre in good signal.  Security can be configured for WPS One-Touch Setup, WPA and WPA2 as well as optional parental controls to lock it down further.  You can check out the full product page here.

Chino Hills, CA — May 14, 2012 — Amped Wireless, the leading manufacturer of high-power, long-range wireless communications products for the home and office, today unveiled its new flagship, long range router – the R20000G High Power Wireless-N Gigabit Dual Band Router.

Engineered to deliver exceptional levels of performance, power and flexibility, this new router is designed for use in large homes and offices. The R20000G brings unprecedented, simultaneous dual band Wi-Fi to home and office users of up to 10,000 square feet of coverage or a quarter of an acre, the same size as a major league baseball diamond.

How It Works
This new router not only boost wireless coverage, the R20000G delivers a combined speed of up to 600Mbps for smooth streaming of video, music and uninterrupted gaming across a number of devices, including: Game Consoles, iPads, Internet TVs, Notebooks, PC, Smart Phones, Tablets, VoIP devices and more.

“Amped Wireless has continued to make strides in the industry with our innovative power amplifying technology and design,” stated Jason Owen, President and CEO at Amped Wireless. “The R20000G is the ideal product for any consumer that wants to outfit their entire office or home and backyard, with a high performance router with the most Wi-Fi coverage on the market today.”

Building on their award-winning Wi-Fi technology, the R20000G is engineered with the latest state-of-the-art wireless features which includes:

• Dual high power 2.4GHz 600mW amplifiers, dual high power 5.0GHz amplifiers and dual low noise amplifiers for improving wireless reception
• Dual High Gain 5dBi detachable dual band antennas
• High speed 620MHz internal processor for faster networking
• Simultaneous 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz dual band 802.11n technology

The combination of advanced power amplifiers, wireless reception amplifiers and high gain antennas, provide users with a significant increase in signal strength over great distances to improve home or office Wi-Fi coverage.

The R20000G also features 5 gigabit networking ports for connecting additional wired network devices, and a USB 2.0 port to share files among connected users. The high power router includes premium features such as, guest networks, adjustable Wi-Fi coverage controls, parental controls, website blocking and support for the latest Wi-Fi security to secure your Wi-Fi experience.